Saturday, May 28, 2011

15. Charles Barkley- 18th all time in career points, 16th in rebounds, and 18th in steals. Barkley won two gold medals as part of the NBA Dream Team. Was voted League NBA in 1993. Retired in 2000 as one of four NBA players to have 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists. Barkley was voted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2006.

14. Moses Malone- 6th all time in points, 5th in rebounds, and 21st in blocks. Malone was a three time MVP and won the NBA Finals and Finals MVP in 1983 as part of the Philladelphia 76ers.

13. John Stockton- 1st all time in assists and steals. Won two gold medals as part of the NBA Dream Team. Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2009.

12. Hakeem Olajuwan- 8th all time in points, 11th in rebounds, 8th in steals, and 1st in blocked shots. Olajuwon won two NBA Finals with the Houston Rockets and is the only player to win MVP, Defensive MVP, and NBA Finals MVP all in one year when he did it in the 1992-1994 season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

11. Earvin "Magic" Johnson- 4th all time in assists and 15th all time in steals. Magic won 5 NBA Finals with the Lakers including one his rookie season when he also was the Finals MVP. Is the NBA all time leader in assists per game with 11.8 Was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

10. LeBRON James- Won MVP in 2009. Has made All-Star team in every season except his rookie season. Became youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in a game, 1,000 career points, and 10,000 career points.

9. Shaquille O'Neal- is 5th all time in points, 15th in rebounds, and 7th in blocks. Has won four NBA Finals and one MVP.

8. Karl Malone- 2nd all time in points and 6th in rebounds. Won two MVPs. Known as one of the greates power forwards to ever play the game.

7. Kobe Bryant- 17th all time in points and 27th in steals. Since his second year in the league Bryant has started in every All-Star game. Won MVP in 2008 and has won two NBA finals and possibly a third as he has brought the Lakers back to the Finals this year. Is one of the clutchest players to ever play the game.

6. Oscar Robertson- 9th all time in points and 5th in assists. Is only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. Won the NBA Finals in 1970-1971 and has won one NBA MVP. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

5. Larry Bird- 24th all time in points. Won three straight NBA MVP awards. Also won three NBA Finals and two NBA FINALS MVPs. Red Aurebach refers to Bird as the best player to ever play the game. Bird was elected to Hall of Fame in 1998.

4. Wilt Chamberlain- 4th all tim in points, and 1st in rebounds. He is the only player in NBA history to average more than 40 and 50 points in a season. Chamberlain has the NBA record for most points in a game with 100 and also most rebounds in a game with 55. He won four League MVPs. Was elected to Hall of Fame in 1976.

3. Bill Russell- 2nd all time in rebounds. Won a record 11 NBA Championships. Also won five NBA MVPs. Elected to Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2009, the NBA announced that the NBA Finals MVP would be named the Bill Russel NBA FInals Most Valuable Player in honor of Russell.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- 1st all time in points, 3rd in rebounds, and 3rd in blocks. Abdul-Jabbar won six MVPs and six NBA finals, two in which he was also Finals MVP. Jabbar was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

1. Michael Jordan- 3rd all time in points and 2nd in steals. Won two olympic gold medals as part of the dream team. Won six NBA Championships and six NBA Finals MVPs. Won league MVP five times. Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century. The most clutch player to ever play the game. LINK: Youtube